Ornament and imagery

Individual motifs

Three main classes of motifs are used: geometric; conventional, or stylized; and illustrative, or naturalistic. The geometric repertoire is built up from variations and combinations of meanders, polygons, crosses, and stars. Meanders, chiefly for borders, range from the simple serration employed from earliest times to fairly complex hooked forms, characteristically the angular “running wave,” or “Greek key,” which is also very ancient. Little trefoil (trilobed) motifs are used for guard stripes in the Caucasus, central Iran, and India. Chief among the polygons employed are the lozenge and the octagon. The Maltese cross is frequently used, as is the gamma cross, or swastika. Purely geometric stars are usually based on the cross or the octagon. Many of these motifs, which are rudimentary and very ancient, may have originated in basket weaving and the related reed-mat plaiting, for they are natural to both techniques; but in rug weaving they have survived chiefly in the work of Central Asia, Asia Minor, and the Caucasus, in both pile-knotted and flat-woven fabrics.

One of the principal stylized motifs in 16th- and 17th-century Persian carpets is the so-called arabesque, an ambiguous term that generally implies an intricate scrolling-vine system. In a common Persian ornamental scheme, two asymmetrical members cross at an acute angle, forming a lilylike blossom, and then describe curves in opposite directions, readily continuing into further scroll systems. This highly individual form was begun in China in the late Zhou period (c. 600 bc), notably on a few bronze mirrors, and was beautifully developed during the Han dynasty (206 bc–ad 220). It appeared in Persia in the 12th century (on pottery and architectural stucco ornament), possibly influenced by the Chinese form.

Directly traceable to China are the cloud knot and cloud band, or ribbon—both in use by the Han period at least and with a continuous history thereafter. The cloud knot, a feature of the Persian court carpets of the time of Shāh ʿAbbās, was continued to the end of the 18th century. The cloud band became important on 16th-century carpets; it was employed with especial elegance and skill by Persian designers and perhaps most beautifully in Turkish court carpets, which owed much to Persian inspiration. The cloud band and knot motifs moved from Syrian textile design into Asia Minor with the Ottoman Turkish conquest in the 15th century and became typical of one group of 16th–17th century Turkish carpets.

Palmettes, a second major class of stylized motifs dominant in a considerable range of carpet designs from Asia Minor to India, originated in Assyrian design as stylizations of the palm tree, a symbol of vitalistic power that was often, if not always, associated with the Moon. Many of the almost uncountable variations that developed through the centuries continued to refer directly to the palm. As early as the 1st millennium bc, however, others derived from the lotus blossom, a complementary motif connected primarily with the fertility symbolism of the Sun. Still others involved the pomegranate, another fertility symbol, while yet another group presented the vitalistic emblem of the vine, this last design being built on the single leaf. The forms of these four main types of palmettes found in Oriental rug designs are directly descended from styles current in textile designs from the 4th century onward and are often modified by Chinese influences. The patterns in the 16th and early 17th centuries were beautifully and realistically elaborated, and blossoms such as the Chinese peony sometimes compete with the more stylized lotus. The lanceolate leaf, often associated with palmettes (especially in east Persian designs), is generally stylized. The chalice, fan, and half-palmette, all evolved from the palmette and used in Oriental rugs, were also used in 17th- and 18th-century European designs.

Outstanding among the more naturalistic plants are cypresses and blossoming fruit trees, symbolizing life eternal and resurrection, respectively. Willows and jasmine flowers are prominent in the Shāh ʿAbbās vase carpet and tulips in Turkish court carpets. Many minor foliate and floral forms had no specific botanical identification, though they give a realistic effect. Naturalistic red or pink roses were widespread in European designs by the mid-16th century. Under European influence, they appeared in Oriental designs, particularly Persian, in the later 19th century.

The most important illustrative motifs, other than naturalistic plants, are those connected with the garden and the hunt: many small songbirds (in Persia, especially the nightingale); the pheasant (feng-huang), taken over from China and much favoured in the 16th century; occasionally the peacock; lions and a semiconventional lion mask, sometimes used as the centre of a palmette; tigers; cheetahs; bears; foxes; deer of numerous species; goats, sometimes picturesquely prancing; the wild ass, a fleet prey; ferocious-looking Chinese dragons, and the gentle qi-lin, a fantastic equine also imported from China. Fish sometimes swim in pools or streams or are conventionally paired to suggest a shield, or escutcheon, in the borders of the carpet. Huntsmen, usually mounted, are the most frequent human figures, though musicians are also depicted. Angels are occasionally present.

The underlying theme of both the stylized and naturalistic vocabularies is nearly always fertility or abundance. The great Persian carpets of Ardabīl (1539–40), for example, feature a huge golden stellate medallion, developed from the multiple-pointed rosette that from time immemorial symbolized the Sun. At its centre are four lotus blossoms floating on a little gray-blue pool that represents the source of rain in the heavens. The medallion thus symbolizes the two basic vitalizing elements—Sun and water. As proof of its magical potency, a complex system of tendrils and blossoms issues from it.

In Oriental carpet design, a flat surface pattern is always emphasized, even where small details are plentiful. European designs, however, tend more toward the illusionistic effects of painting, often using shading and picturelike compositions and incorporating architectural motifs and even portraiture. This tendency is particularly evident in French carpets of the 17th and 18th centuries.

Symbolism of overall design

In addition to the symbolism inherent in individual motifs incorporated into the design of the carpet, the total design—indeed, the carpet itself—can be symbolic, as are some of the earliest Persian designs. The ultimate example is the Spring (or Winter) of Khosrow Carpet made for the audience hall of the Sāsānid palace at Ctesiphon (southeast of Baghdad) in the 6th century. The carpet has not survived, but, according to written records, it represented a formal garden with watercourses, paths, rectangular beds filled with flowers, and blossoming shrubs and fruit trees. Yellow gravel was represented by gold; and the blossoms, fruit, and birds were worked with pearls and various jewels. The outer border, representing a meadow, was solid with emeralds. Made of silk and measuring about 84 feet (25.6 metres) square, the carpet must have been overwhelmingly splendid when the great portal curtains of the hall were drawn back and the sunlight flooded the interior.

This dazzling carpet symbolized the divine role of the king, who regulated the seasons and guaranteed spring’s return, renewing the earth’s fertility and assuring prosperity. On another plane, it represented the Garden of Eden, a symbol of eternal paradise (the English word paradise is ultimately derived from the Persian word meaning “walled park”). With its flowers, birds, and water, it symbolized not only deliverance from the harsh desert but also the promise of eternal happiness.

This most sumptuous of carpets made a profound impression on everyone, especially the Persians. For centuries it bewitched the Persian imagination, becoming a legend in history, poetry, and art. Vain attempts at emulation were made by Oriental craftsmen for more than a millennium; and though its realistic depiction has disappeared, the Garden of Eden concept lingers on in Oriental designs. The garlands, vines, flowers, trees, animals, and beasts all strive to create a landscape, picturing hunting scenes or game, lakes with water birds, and often images of supernatural or celestial beings, such as jinn, houris, or a gathering of the blissful righteous at a banquet or dance. Accompanying verses support the image, lyrically extolling the carpet as a garden, for example, or a blooming meadow and comparing its beauty to that of the Garden of Eden.